Wanderlust: 2nd day: Bohol-Cebu Trip (Oslob-Sumilon)

How to go to Oslob

Oslob is a fourth class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. It is 135Km away from Cebu City or 3-4 hours drive depending on the traffic situation.

From Robe's Pension house, taxi fare to the terminal is 50 pesos. We rode a bus in the South Bus terminal with the signboard Bato-Oslob or Bato-Liloan. Fare is around 145 pesos. Because we left early in Cebu City, around 240am and there are not much vehicles in the road, we arrived in Oslob around 5am.

Where to Stay in Oslob

Most of the hotels in Oslob where fullybooked at the time of our travel. Good thing we found a room in Oslob New Village Lodge. We did not pay for downpayment, the owner Hans just told us to confirm 2 days before the trip if we are going to push through with our reservation.

Since we arrived in Oslob too early for our check-in, the caretaker ushered us to her home so we can leave our things before going for the Whaleshark interaction. We were given pandesal and hot coffee while waiting for 6am (as the interaction starts at this hour) and they did not charge us for that! But of course, we gave ate some tip when we checked out.

The lodge has only one airconditioned room so we were lucky to have it. The room cost about 800 pesos plus 150 for the additional bed as we were three in the group.

The lodge is located in San Jose St. Poblacion Oslob. You can ask the bus conductor to drop you off at the Oslob Public Market. Then go the Julie's Bakeshop and turn left at the street near to it and then right again. The lodge is also near to the Malonzo Pension House.

We hired Kuya ('the caretaker" at the lodge) for our trike service for the entire day. That includes going to the Tan-awan for the Whalesharks, the road to Tumalog, to the Sumilon jetty port and back to the Lodge in the afternoon. He charged us P400 and we just gave him a tip later.

Oslob New Village Lodge

San Jose St. Poblacion Oslob, Cebu

Things to do in Oslob

Whaleshark Interaction

Whaleshark interaction in Oslob is cheaper and hassle-free as compared to the one in Donsol, Sorsogon. We tried whaleshark interaction last April 2013 in Donsol but opted to go island hopping instead as we were informed that there was only one whaleshark sighted for the past 4 weeks. In Oslob, the whaleshark is just 5mins away from the shore. They charge 500 pesos for the 30min interaction if you want to swim with the whaleshark and 300 pesos if you just want to stay in the boat. If you don't have an underwater camera, you can rent it there for 500 pesos and the boatman can be your photographer as well. If you don't have a memory card, they charge another 50pesos. In our case, the pictures were then transferred to our own memory card. If you worry about getting burned in the sun while doing the activity, better wear rashguard as sunblock is not allowed as it is not good for the whaleshark.

Take a dip in Tumalog Falls

From the whaleshark interaction area, you can ride a trike to send you to the road going to Tumalog Falls. In our case, we paid the trike 300 pesos for back and forth service including waiting time. That's from the lodge to whaleshark interaction, to the Tumalog Falls road then to Sumilon Island Jetty Port and back to the lodge in the afternoon.

Then you ride the "habal-habal" single motor for 120 pesos back and forth. Once you reach the top there is an entrance fee of 20 pesos per head. If you are into adventure then you can walk the remaining distance which is 500m down the slope going to the falls or ride another habal-habal for 50pesos back and forth and inform the driver what time they are going to get you.

Tumalog Falls

Bluewater Sumilon Island Day Tour

The jetty port going to Sumilon Island is just a few mins away from the whaleshark interaction. We took the 930 boat ride as we went to Tumalog Falls first after the whaleshark interaction. It's a huge boat so you don't have to worry about the waves plus the trip is not that long as well. Around 15-20mins.

At the resort, we were immediately amazed with what it can offer. They have a sandbar, a white beach, a marine sanctuary site, lagoon, a watchtower, a pool and 2-3 jaccuzzis. You can either swim in the beach, in the pool, relax in the jaccuzzi, go snorkelling or trek to the watchtower. They even have a glamping site as well.

We tried the trek to the watchtower which is 400m from the starting point. The trek is not easy as you will be stepping on coral stones so better wear shoes for this activity. The trek will also give you the top view of the island. You can see the beach, the lagoon from above. It was like 25-30mins trek before we reached the watchtower. There were actually 2 watchtowers there one is new and the other is the old one which is the "baluarte" though it looks like a ruin now. Then we took the shortcut going back. It was only 195m and the trek is not that hard as you get to walk on soil and not much coral stones.

Food is just ok, nothing special. We headed back to the mainland at 330pm. We forgot to return the towels at the reception area so we had a little panic attack when we realized we need to have our names cleared before we can ride the boat going back to the mainland. Luckily, I speak the language so a little persuasion to Kuya did the magic.

Infinity Pool

Lagoon

Watchtower in Sumilon Island

View from the Top

Here's some info provided to me by Bluewater:

Heritage Tour

We decided to do the Heritage tour on our own since it's just walking distance from the lodge. You can find 3 sites in Oslob Poblacion. First stop is the church of the Nuestra Senora de la Immaculada Concepcion. This structure was constructed in the 19th century using polished coral stones. Then just a few steps from the church is the Cuartel. Cuartel is Spanish term for barracks or headquarters. Take a walk to the plaza and enjoy the view of the sea. To the left, facing the sea is the the 3rd site which is the Baluarte. Baluarte is a Spanish term for watchtower.